The Internet has pretty much killed formal writing, and in most cases I ignore it. Text message speak is even worse. This email from the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, however, really bothered me. Two instances of starting a sentence with "so", one a fragment. Whatever the Board pays this guy is too much. Either he wrote it and didn't have it reviewed, or somebody else wrote it and he didn't notice it when he reviewed it. Informal posts on a forum, email with your brother, or sending text messages to your wife, are instances when perfect spelling or grammar are not that critical. A letter from the CEO demands a little more care.

When I was with the state we wrote long, dry reports and letters. As a way to better address the public, the Commission sent my entire department to a"Plain Writing Class".

In a nutshell, we were taught to write the same way we spoke. It was a three week class and after the first week, I was instructed to write the way I spoke except for four letter words, mountain slang and colorful stories.